> systems without IME exist, but are not available for purchase, for any price, except for governments.
How about RISC-V?
How about RISC-V?
...wait a sec. You're just referring to an ungimped system. Carry on.
And they have a 64-core version in the works: https://twitter.com/SipeedIO/status/1620011141639581698
What's surprising is that this unencumbered hardware is coming from a country that's a dictatorship.
What makes the Raspi special is a vast repository of documentation, a community of people offering support, and extremely well supported peripherals with tight integration. This is a lot of work to do well and to maintain.